India take advantage as England let chances go begging

ENGLAND coach Jason Lee slammed missed opportunities as his side let a lead slip against India - going down 4-3 in Birmingham.

LESSONS TO LEARN: Jason Lee was less than impressed with England's wastefulness in front of goal in Birmingham (Getty Images)

Lee, who will announce his team for this month's European Championships early next week, was less than impressed after his side were leading 2-0, thanks to Ashley Jackson and Jonty Clarke's early strikes.

"At 2-0 up we were playing well but the sign of a good team is to put the game away in that position," said Lee. 

"We had several good opportunities to go 3-0 up but we didn't take them and we really lost the game in the last ten minutes of the second half, when we could have put it to bed. 

"In the second half we were lethargic and lackadaisical and India came back well."

Lee made five changes to the team that beat India in the first game of the three-match series, giving Richard Lane his senior debut.

Jackson opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with a powerful flick from a set-piece but seconds later Simon Egerton missed a glaring chance to double the advantage.

However, when impressive Indian goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza could only deflect Matt Daly's powerful shot, Clarke was on hand to throw himself at the loose ball.

Another chance went begging when a well-placed Daly narrowly failed to connect with a precision James Tindall cross as England's attacking play left India reeling.

However, the visitors started the second half with new purpose.

Arjun Halappa converted an early penalty corner, Dhananjay Mahadik cancelled out England's advantage six minutes later and Rajpal Singh then completed a free-flowing move for a lead that had looked unlikely just ten minutes earlier.

Gurvinder Chandi's reverse stick volley then put India in complete control, although Jackson netted his second penalty corner in the dying minutes.

"We're not worried about the result," said India's Spanish coach Jose Brasa.

"We haven't come here to win, we've come to learn.  They are trying new things that they are not used to.  In the second half, we gave the players more confidence to play how they know." 

The deciding match in the series will be played at the University of Birmingham on Sunday.